What is Maritime Archaeology? (Part 1)

Join renowned maritime archaeologist Jim Delgado as he and his team study past human cultures to better understand how they interacted with the world’s oceans, lakes and rivers.

JIM DELGADO:

So much of history has really been tightly kept in a little box that archaeology is now cracking open. I started in archaeology when I was fourteen. And I figured, “What could I do? What was left to be found?” 95% of the oceans remain unknown. So if you want to go explore, if you want to find something, the oceans are a tremendous place to work.

Maritime archaeology is the study, from what people leave behind, of how we as human beings have interacted with the oceans and with lakes and rivers. It goes back thousands of years, tens of thousands of years, as people harvested goods from the sea, learned how to fish, built the first canoes to cross the oceans, to today’s modern times when big massive ships ply the oceans carrying oil, large numbers of people, and in the 21st century, still transport 90% of the things that people buy and use by water.

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Fast Facts

Maritime archaeology is the study of past human cultures with an emphasis on how humans interacted with the world's oceans, lakes and river systems.

While maritime archaeology is best known for its focus on shipwrecks, it is really the study of everything connected to seafaring.

The United States became a world power through its maritime commerce and naval strength. Using maritime archaeology to document these material remains helps us rediscover that proud legacy by bringing a physical connection to our past.